5 realistic free agents Buccaneers could sign in 2024
By Josh Hill
Javon Kinlaw, DT/EDGE
If the Buccaneers are looking for value, Javon Kinlaw might end up being someone we look back at in a year not unlike how Baker Mayfield is being viewed. Both carry the weight of top draft picks (although Kinlaw was the No. 14 overall pick in 2020) but they each could come to Tampa Bay looking to revive their careers.
Kinlaw has showed promise in his short career but he’s failed to fully capitalize on it while with San Francisco. The Bucs love pass rushers and Kinlaw is one of the most talented in the league when he’s playing up to the level everyone expects from him.
Because he’s failed to consistently do that, it seems he could could be a decent discount option on the market for the Bucs to pursue. His market value is set around $5 million, which is a reasonable figure for a player who is still relatively young in his career and could be a number the Bucs feel comfortable with offering as a one-year deal.
Putting Kinlaw in Todd Bowles’ defense next to Vita Vea and Calijah Kancey might be exactly what he needs to kick things into another gear. San Francisco has a deeply talent front, but it was one where Kinlaw was easily swallowed up by other players. In Tampa Bay he could provide a serious pass rush threat next two talented players who won’t step on his toes.
It’s a gamble, as the Niners have been a consistently good team for Kinlaw’s entire career and he hasn’t managed to break out. Perhaps it’s more circumstantial than anything else, and the Bucs making a low-risk bet to find out and add defensive line depth can’t hurt.